By Julia Ainsley and Julie Tsirkin -
NBC News
The Biden administration is considering taking unilateral steps without Congress to make it more difficult for immigrants to pass initial asylum screening at the U.S.-Mexico border and quickly deport new arrivals who do not meet the criteria. according to three US officials with knowledge of the deliberations.
The measures, still weeks away from completion, are an effort to reduce the number of immigrants illegally crossing the southern border, as immigration remains a top issue for voters ahead of the 2024 presidential election. .
Migrants arrive in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, to cross the border with the United States on May 7, 2023.David Peinado Romero / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images file
Under the new policies, asylum officials will be directed to raise the standards they use in their “credible fear interviews,” the first test given to asylum seekers trying to avoid deportation for illegally crossing the border. .
For its part, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must prioritize new arrivals for deportation, following a '
last in, first out' policy.
A congressional adviser with knowledge of the process explained that the Biden Administration has not yet made a decision, but that raising the asylum bar and deporting more recently arrived immigrants is considered an action within reach that can be taken quickly.
The three U.S. officials said it is unclear whether the policies would be carried out through an executive order or new federal regulations, which could take months to implement.
[This new asylum program is helping thousands of migrants reach the US without risking their lives or paying smugglers]
Making it more difficult to apply for asylum and speeding up the deportation of immigrants are not new ideas, but they are being considered more seriously as the Biden administration looks for ways to curb the chaos at the border, after Republicans blocked it earlier this year. month the border security provisions in the Supplemental Homeland Security bill.
Without the bill, any action the president takes unilaterally will be limited in scope because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is underfunded.
For its part, ICE currently faces a budget shortfall of more than $500 million and could have to begin cutting key services in May without more money from Congress, sources told NBC News last week.
A DHS official expressed skepticism about the 'last in, first out' policy because it would leave millions of immigrants already in the United States, including thousands homeless in major cities, in a long legal limbo while their cases are pushed to the back of the queue.
A DHS spokesperson stressed that Congress must continue to act to avoid jeopardizing border enforcement.
“If Congress once again refuses to provide the critical funding needed to support the vital missions of DHS, they would be harming efforts to apply tough and timely consequences to those who have no legal basis to remain in the country,” said the spokesman.
“There are real limits to what we can do with current funding, as Congress
has not passed a budget or responded to the
president's two supplemental budget requests.
“We again call on you to act and provide the funding and tools our frontline staff need.”